Moon Fall
by 007Delta
Summary: Nightmare Moon's ghost haunts Luna's mind, threatening to once again return and wreak havoc in Equestria. The only thing standing in her way is Luna's sheer power of mind, and it is only a matter of time before the princess of the moon's darker side finally blots out the light. Equestria may never recover from the damage that could be done, and the land may once again be plunged
1. Nightmares of a Night Mare

"There can only be one leader. There can only be one princess. There can only be one queen! And I'll be damned if it's going to be _her_!"

The hostile voice echoed through Luna's head and pierced her mind.

"You have lost your importance in the world. You have become but a shadow of the one mare you used to call sister. You rose up to claim power that should have rightfully been yours, and she humiliated you by imprisoning you within the only thing you truly had control of. For years, ponies looked to the sky, only to see the ugly scar your impotence had left on the moon. After some time had passed, the world couldn't even remember if you were real. You had been reduced to something as trivial as a myth. "

Luna struggled to push the negativity of the her past out of her mind, but the voice shoved back and sent shooting pains through her skull.

"In your absence, she controlled both the sun and moon, proving that you were merely a figurehead. You were never needed. The world functioned without you for 1000 years, and now your presence makes little difference in the world."

Luna tried to speak to the voice in her mind.

"No! My sister loves me! She cares for me! You're wrong!"

The voice retorted with a bored voice.

"Does she really? Then why does she rule Equestria, while you simply play as her sidekick? Why did Cadence acquire a kingdom before you did? You seized the Crystal Empire alongside Celestia, and it was given away before you could even open your muzzle. Now her little sycophant Twilight has become a princess, and she has simply thrown you to the wayside. Tell me again, _Luna_,"

She spat the word Luna,

"Where do Celestia's real interests lie?"

Luna herself was speechless.

"You know the truth, no one has hidden it from you but yourself. Whether you choose to act upon it is your decision. After I tried taking charge, Celestia subdued me and brought your weakness out through the cracks in my strength. Be chary where you trot "princess", Celestia has little time for the malcontent."

Luna's eyes stung as tears began to well and fall from her face.

"I'll never let you have control again... I'm not you! I'm Luna, I'm her loving sister... I will never be you, Nightmare Moon."

Nightmare Moon materialized out of the darkness.

"We'll see how long it takes for you to crack, insolent whelp"

Suddenly, there was a loud swoosh, and her entire body felt as if it were plummeting through nothingness. Her eyes snapped opened and she woke from her terrible dream. She sat up in her bed and looked around slowly, using her hoof to chase ripples in her blankets. Normally she was strong and composed, but she had been having these visions of her other self for the last few days, and they had begun to worry her. At first, it started out as whispers she could barely hear, murmuring unintelligible things to her subconscious. But slowly, they emerged from the background of her mind, and began to plague her while she dreamt.

She used her magic to crack open one of her fully drawn shades, and a bright beam of light came surging into the room. Still a long time before the moon was due to arrive, meaning that she had a little more time to sleep, but the loud yelling of Nightmare Moon made her dread having to rest at all. She closed the thick curtains once more; not to sleep, but she preferred a cloak of darkness over a ray of sunlight any day.

Luna stepped off of her bed and made her way to her tall bedroom door, passing the many expensive looking trinkets and gadgets littering her dark floor. Her horn glowed a soft cerulean as she opened the deep brown gate with her magic, and departed into the hallway. As she walked, she pondered the dreams she had been having... Nightmare Moon wasn't dead. The Elements of Harmony had certainly weakened her, but it did not eradicate her completely, instead it simply stowed her away in Luna's mind.

She turned the corner to see Discord leaning against the wall, looking in Luna's direction like he already knew she was coming, an arrogant smirk plastered to his face.

"My, my, princess, why do we look so lost this fine afternoon? You look as if you have had a nightmare."

Discord's choice of word seemed quite particular.

"It's as if you've seen a ghost! Perhaps an enemy of the past? Well you know what they say, keep your friends close..."

Luna has had many encounters with the embodiment of chaos, especially after he started to take residence in the castle, and she knew better than to react to his banter. She began to explain. "There have been a few things on our min-"

Discord interrupted her. "Why do you insist on using the royal we? It's just us you know," Suddenly Discord appeared beside her. "You need not useth your dated forsoothery on thou, princess,"

"Thee," she corrected.

Discord rolled his eyes and slithered farther down the hall. "You royal types are all the same. Blah blah blah order, blah blah blah stature. One more friendship speech from Celestia and I'm going to puke all over her throne." He began to walk alongside her, a sly smile upon his lips. "You know, since I've escaped from my prison, I feel like I have been rather out of it. Perhaps you can relate?"

Luna had reached the end of the hall and turned the corner, but Discord simply phased right through the stone wall. She then realized that he had shrunk himself down to small size, and was now hanging off of her horn with one hand. "Ever since Celestia brought me back, I have felt so useless. I'm the spirit of chaos, and I am forced to behave like I'm some stubborn child." There was a poof and suddenly, he became a moving painting in the floor beneath her. "It's as if I'm a whole new me!"

Princess Luna stopped and looked down at oil painted Discord, who merely returned her gaze with a sly smile. "What do you know Discord, I command thou as your princess, to telleth us what your up to!" Discord sighed as he changed from a painting on the floor into a muerel on the wall

"There you go with your fancy talk again princess. Why do you find it so hard to change? Not even Celestia talks like that anymore."

Luna's expression remained stern. "Thou are avoiding the question."

Discord began to groom his mismatched claws. "How does one avoid a question?" Luna was beginning to get angry with Discord, but she had to find out what he knew.

"Discord, telleth us what thou knows or we'll have you locked in a statue for a few hundred years!"

"Stop threatening the innocent or Celestia will send you back to the moon for a few hundred years."

Luna's composure was finally broken. She looked at the muerel of Discord as her mouth fell agape. She stared at him in silence before she opened her mouth to talk. "Never speak of my Darker Side in such a manner again." She stepped forward and gazed directly into Discord's eyes, who seemed to show a hint of genuine fear. She continued down the hall with her head down, her skull now ringing with hatred and lividity. Suddenly, she could hear Nightmare's voice echoing through her head again, and she stopped directly in her tracks.

"You should think twice about getting angry princess... She's strongest when your angry." Said a voice behind her. He turned around to find a strangely apologetic Discord who was now looking at her with a serious expression. "You talk in your sleep quite often. I've made it rather a hobby of mine to check on your little shows. " Luna looked at him uncomfortably, "At first, you would say strange things like, "I'm your sister! I'm not you!"... But today was a little different. You spoke for another pony, and from the sound of it... I'd say it was her." The princess pondered these thoughts for a long while. Before she simply, disregarded Discord and continued down the hall without paying any mind to the Draconequus.

Discord looked down at the stone floor with a hint of loneliness in his face. Finally, he stood up with a resolved face and announced to no one in particular, "Whatever, I'm going to hang out with Shuttershy... Er, Shutter-whatever." Before he walked right through the wall once more.

Luna's heart began to sink, thinking about what her sister had to do to her. Nightmare Moon was too cowardly to face the punishment herself, and instead laid dormant for the entirety of the punishment. Luna herself had to experience every second of the millennia she had spent imprisoned, while Nightmare Moon Hibernated in the comfort of her conscious. She continued to walk, but her steady gait was slowing down as she became increasingly distraught with the thoughts of her banishment.

But something in her head snapped.

She started to get angry. Much angrier than before. Her breathing increased, her heart rate began to spasm and kick, her skull felt as if it were cracking, and as it all happened, a voice in her head laughed hysterically. Her glowing, spatial mane began to darken and flow erratically, as her posture slowly became aggressive. She closed her eyes and stomped her hooves, and looked forward to see the tall white figure of Celestia, standing a few feet away.

Her vivid mane billowed smoothly, creating a soft hum that filled the dim hall. She said nothing. She only stared into Luna's eyes, her own giving no hint as to what was going through her mind. Suddenly, Luna felt calm and somewhat submissive. She bent her head low and looked up at her sister, a look of guilt and shame smitten upon her face, but Celestia merely walked forward slowly and looked worriedly into Luna's.

"Dear sister, what has possessed you to act in such a manner?"

Luna looked up at her sister with tearful eyes, her spirit finally collapsing under the stress of having to struggle to keep control of her own body. She tearfully told Celestia of her nightmares, Discord, and how Nightmare Moon survived her ordeal with the Elements. Celestia listened, her face stern and thoughtful, as she tried to piece together the puzzle that had been laid before her. She had remained silent for awhile before turning to Luna.

"Perhaps we should try the elements once again,". Luna had been shaken by the whole experience, but silently nodded without making eye contact.

They cantered quickly to Celestia's chambers, which was shaped like a large cylinder that rounded out towards the top. There were tall, ornate sections of the wall that had been removed to allow the sun to light up the room, which was now beginning to set, casting brilliant beams of orange all over the polished cobblestone floor. On the inner walls were several tall tapestries placed directly next to each other that created an enormous and colorful map of Equestria. The beams danced along the fabric as the map gently undulated in the cool draft that had been frolicking from the windows.

At the very top of her room was a beautiful chandelier, with a big blue and green earth surrounded by a crystal sun and moon, and several hundred sparkling crystal stars littered about. Celestia entered her private chamber, and closed the door behind Luna. Her horn flared a soft teal, and her many windows began to move. They churned and warped, before closing together, leaving no sign that hinted they ever existed. Upon the last window closing, the room turned pitch black, but with another flash of teal, the chandelier lit up with many colors. The sun and moon brightened as the center orb opened up to reveal a small box which descended slowly in front of the two princesses. It opened to reveal five elements.

Luna suddenly looked panicked, "Sister! Where art the sixth Element? Should it not be here?" But Celestia simply put on a gentle smile as she sheepishly responded.

"Twilight must have it," her horn flashed teal once again as her windows reopened and her chandelier closed. "I need to have a new crown fashioned for her, it isn't such a good idea to keep the elements exposed." She walked over to a wooden desk and magically grasped a quill and parchment, scribbled a few words, and sent the note to Spike.

There was a rather awkward silence between the two sisters as they waited for the crown to be sent. It didn't take long for the golden diadem to materialize in front of Celestia, and she wasted no time in reuniting it with the rest of the Elements. They leapt off of the ground and floated in a circle around the eldest sister, as she aimed the Center at Luna, who couldn't help but wince a little as the six stones powered up. There was a large flash of light and a white beam quickly engulfed Luna. There was high pitched hum as the elements sparked out and dropped to the floor, leaving Luna in a defensive position, and Celestia wide eyed and speechless.

As the metal of the jewelry collided with the floor, multicolored sparks showered from the six stones.

Luna opened one of her eyes slowly, before she looked at her sister. "Hath the experiment failed? We don't feel any different,".

Celestia bent down and looked at the scattered elements. "I don't think it worked..." Luna looked surprised. "What? Are they broken?" Luna looked back at her sister.

"I don't think it recognized anything to fix. Perhaps your just imagining Nightmare Moon in your head,"

Luna looked offended. "We're not making this up! Nor would we allow our imagination to get the better of us! How dare you think so lowly of your own sister!"

Celestia was taken aback.

"Luna, I didn't mean any harm by that,"

"You don't mean any harm for anything, but look what you have done! We'll kill you, you soft minded wretch!"

Celestia backed away as a now enraged Luna marched toward her. Her eyes began to glow a strange and malevolent red, as her pupils began to morph into slits. her teeth began to elongate and protruded from her upper lip, as she readied her horn to ram the white mare in front of her. Suddenly, a few sparks sputtered from Luna's horn, and she collapsed to the floor. "Sister! Are you alright?" Celestia rushed toward the navy colored heap that lay on her stone tiling. Suddenly, Luna's billowing mane sputtered out of existence, leaving her natural blue one resting on the floor. She stirred and struggled to get up, but she felt weak. Unexplainably so.

She managed to stand herself up, but her whole body shook as she strained to keep herself from falling once more. Celestia picked her sister up off of her feet magically, and placed Luna over her back. She kicked down her door and began to scream into the hall.

"Someone come! Luna has fallen! I need help!" Her voice strained and cracked as she screeched out every word into the hall. Almost immediately some royal guards yelled back.

"We're coming princess! Stay where you are!" Celestia felt her sister pass out on her back, and she knew if she wasn't helped soon, She might have to rule without Luna once more.

A trio of royal guards rushed toward the princess and floated the unconscious Luna off Celestia. "Get her to the hospital!" Sputtered a now panicking princess. The guards looked at Celestia with faces of horror and uncertainty. They had never seen their leader in such a state of disarray. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" She yelled suddenly.

The three guards jumped as they begun galloping down the hall, their princess in a blue protective bubble between them.

Celestia would have accompanied her sister to the hospital, but she had to notify Twilight of the events. She would be an indispensable tool in figuring out what was wrong with Luna, who would now be unable to lower the moon. Celestia burst back into her room and reopened her stone windows. She galloped toward the open air before she leapt out of the castle, spread her white wings and began to glide toward the ground. The air whistled past her ears as she stomped the grass with her landing, and lit up her horn once again.

The sun sank beneath the surface of the horizon, casting brilliant shades of deep red and brown across the sky, before the moon emerged for the opposite side and colored the heavens a deep purple. She then took off once more, as she flew in the direction of Ponyville


	2. The Weight of Gravity

Rainbow Dash snuggled into her large cloud and watched as the enormous fireball that was the Sun gracefully dip beneath the edge of the earth. On the other side of the sky, she saw a pristine alabaster moon swing from behind Canterlot in the mountain range beyond.

"The sunset sure is pretty up here," said a light yellow Pegasus perched beside her. "I don't come up here often enough to see it happen,".

The rainbow maned pony turned to her with a confident smirk. "I told you it was awesome, sunsets from the clouds are always better than the ones on the ground. Why don't you ever come up to watch them?"

Fluttershy suddenly looked worried as she began to speak. "Well n-normally I make Angel Bunny his special carrot soufflé, and after that he has to have his tail fluffed, then I have to roll his ears and groom his fur, and then-"

Rainbow dash put her hoof to Fluttershy's muzzle. "Whoa, whoa, whoa Fluttershy, relax! This is supposed to be peaceful! You don't need to fret about your rabbit-"

"Bunny!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You don't need to worry about your bunny up here. We're higher than Cloudsdale!"

"R-really? Are we that high up?"

Fluttershy slowly peeked over the edge of the cloud, and reeled back at the sight of Ponyville being but a few colored specks below. She bumped into Rainbow Dash who fell face first into the puffy white cumulus. Fluttershy began to shiver, which caused the entire cloud to shake slightly. "I w-want to g-go home now Rainbow D-Dash, please take us d-down!" Dash lifted her face from the cloud and shook off the condensation from her coat. She then turned to Fluttershy. "I don't understand you sometimes, your a Pegasus who's scared of heights. It's not like falling is a danger to you,".

Fluttershy continued to shiver pitifully, as she cried softly in the center of the cloud.

Rainbow Dash looked at her with a half smile. "Oh come on Fluttershy, don't be so scared of the world. If anything happens, I'll protect you." She looked up, her eyes as puffy as the cloud.

"You promise?"

Rainbow dash hovered over the cloud. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye". Fluttershy paused for a few moments, before she stood up. She was still a little disoriented due to the height, but she managed to keep herself on all fours. She smiled and giggled to herself a little, but it was obvious that she was still terrified. She began to move her wings, and she gently floated above the cloud before she landed and laid down just a few seconds later.

"See, was that so hard?" Said Rainbow Dash as she hovered toward Fluttershy,

"Well... A little,"

"You did great! You faced your fear!"

Rainbow Dash landed next to the shaken yellow mare and looked at the moon. It glistened brightly among the many stars that littered the sky, casting a dim white light on the land below.

"We really should come up here more often." Said a peaceful Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy nodded, "But next time, could we... Maybe not go so high up?" Rainbow Dash laughed and snuggled next to her. She stared dreamily at the moon, studying it's cratered facade. It truly was a beautiful thing to behold, complimented by the mesmerizing purples of the sky and the beautiful greens of the hills below. Her eyes began to droop and sink with each passing minute leaving her yearning for sleep. Fluttershy's breathing had already become slow and even, her soft gentle snores muffled by the clouds noise canceling texture, but Rainbow Dash's eyes opened when a loud roar like thunder came echoing around the sky. As she looked up, a brilliant ring of sherbet colored lights was widening and slowly dissipating, when against the bright white of the moon, she spotted a figure darting toward them.

Dash's magenta colored eyes narrowed as she realized what was about to happen.

"Fluttershy! Get up! There is something coming our-"

Her eyes flashed a bright white as something metallic smashed against her head, and left her hurtling through the air, unconscious.

As the figure collided with Rainbow Dash, an entire half of the cloud was knocked away, and Fluttershy's segment was sent spinning from the collision. Dash's whole body was limp as she plummeted lifelessly though the air, her polychromatic mane blasting behind her as she rolled and twisted her way to the ground.

Fluttershy looked around dizzily. "Rainbow Dash?! Rainbow Dash! Where are you!" She looked around the cloud frantically before spotting the rainbow colored pony sinking through the air like a stone in a pond.

She jumped off of the cloud straight into nosedive, her wings folded back slightly as she gritted her teeth all while she picked up speed rapidly. Every fiber in her being told her to back out, to open her wings and slow down. She didn't have the precision and muscle of Rainbow Dash, and she knew that even if she reached her, that she wouldn't have the strength to stop the fall. But she couldn't abandon her friend in the time she needed her most. The wind whistled past her ears and the air began to sting her eyes, but Dash was too far down to be reached.

In Fluttershy's mind, she knew the truth. No one was hiding it from her but herself, and if she continued to plummet after Rainbow Dash, she would surely crash alongside her. She quickly considered her options, looking around the sky for what swiped the high flying mare from her perch. She saw a tall white figure somersaulting through the air, before it spread it's wings and leveled itself out. Just as it did so, a shiny object fell from the tall silhouette. Fluttershy couldn't make out what it was in the soft light of nighttime and glow of the fading ring of color, but she could see the street lights of Ponyville as she came dangerously close to the town.

Fluttershy closed her eyes as a stream of tears blew from her face. She knew that it would be foolish to fall any further, so she closed her eyes before opening her wings and gliding through the air, abandoning her friend to die.

"I'm sorry Dashie, I'm sorry..." She repeated to herself as she began to sob mid flight. She reopened her eyes to watch a teal figure become a speck, before she fell from her sight completely.

The little yellow pony just couldn't come to terms with what had just happened. Dashie's domain was the sky, and her wings helped her none. After Dash had sworn to protect her, she sacrificed herself, trying to keep Fluttershy out of harms way. She descended in a field just outside of the town, and immediately collapsed in the grass, sobbing loudly over her friends death.

"I'm sorry Dashie! I'm so sorry Dashie..."

She stood up and began to scream into the sky

"Why have you taken her away from me?! Why?" She stomped the grass below. "Bring her back! Bring her back! Bring her back!" She threw herself into the now trampled dirt . She let out a few silent yelps before she spoke to herself.

"Goodbye Dashie, I'll miss you,"

She stood up weakly, looking around the field. Her eyes were beginning to dry, as she had run out of tears to shed.

When she spotted a messy mane floating 20 feet or so in the air.

Fluttershy did not understand. She had no words left to utter, she simply stared at the floating pony with a face of sheer disbelief. She slowly started to walk toward it, her hooves patting the soft ground. In her head, she was sure that this was what losing your mind must have felt like. An endless string of events that only serve to confuse you further, And when she herself was lifted off the ground, she silently confirmed that her brain had reached it's breaking point. She wobbled up and down for a few seconds before settling at the same level as Rainbow Dash. She drifted slowly toward her before she grabbed her head and held it in her hooves. There were no signs of injury except for a cut towards the back of her head, but it looked as if she hadn't hit the ground at all.

"You're lucky the Great and Powerful Trixie had intervened when she did, otherwise this meadow would have been an ugly shade of crimson."

Fluttershy turned toward the voice to find a rich blue unicorn with a purple conical hat and cloak looking at her from about 10 yards away

"Before you ask, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie had turned the area around us into a Float Zone. Instead of falling down, you rise up. I caught your earthbound friend before she turned into a Pegasus pony pancake." Trixie removed her hat and lit her horn a deep shade of purple, and the two Pegasi gently descended toward the dirt.

"May I ask how you landed yourself in such a precarious predicament?"

Fluttershy looked at her with distant eyes. She stepped forward uneasily before she stumbled by her and began to vomit.

Trixie looked away with a queasy look of her own.

"Perhaps red wasn't the color Trixie had anticipated."

Fluttershy had been on an emotional roller coaster for the last few minutes, and it all made her sick to her stomach. After she finished staining the grass, she turned towards Trixie, walked right up to her and gave her a large and gracious hug. "Thank you Trixie," she whispered silently in the embrace.

"Don't mention it," she said a bit uncomfortably as she magically wiped off some sickly looking stains on Fluttershy's mouth. "I'll ask once more, what exactly happened up there?"

Fluttershy looked at her worriedly. "I don't know.". She racked her brain to try and piece together the events of the last few minutes. "she was trying to warn me about something before she got swiped off, but I was half asleep. I think she took the hit to save me,"

Trixie walked over to the unconscious Rainbow Dash, who was breathing weakly. She looked at the wound in the back of her head and examined it closely.

"The gash is deep, and she may have experienced some other internal injuries besides the laceration, but I will be able to heal her since they both are fresh." She bent down, readied herself, and her horn exploded into a short pillar of red light that made the air around them buzz. She aimed the beam at a Rainbow Dash's wound. Fluttershy couldn't help but to yell in fright a little.

She let out a forceful grunt as she focused her mind on welding the two pieces of flesh together, before coaxing Dash's body to expedite the natural healing process. Trixie managed to keep the spell going for 15 seconds before her horn sparked out and she fell to the ground.

"The Float Spell drained my energy. I won't be able to perform any magic for awhile, but I did manage to fix her a little. However, she may still experience some mild head pains when she comes to"

Fluttershy looked at where the wound used to be. There was now only a little bald line where the cut formerly resided.

"For now she is beyond Trixie's help. You will need to find another magically gifted pony if you want to finish the hea-"

"Twilight!" Interjected Fluttershy loudly, before she lowered her head and spoke softly. "Sorry,"

Trixie turned away indifferently. "Though Trixie may not have any quarrel with your purple friend, I prefer to avoid her... As our personalities tend to clash." Trixie felt her neck with her hoof, remembering the feel of a certain amulet. Fluttershy looked at her with a distraught face before she sighed sadly. She turned around and struggled to lift Rainbow Dash onto her back, but she couldn't seem to place her correctly. She kept sliding off and and tipping over, inciting many quiet apologies from the yellow Pegasus.

Trixie looked at her pitifully. "_Perhaps I shouldn't be so quick to abandon her_". She thought. "_Twilight did forgive me after the incident with the Alicorn Amulet, but something tells me I wouldn't be welcome. Plus I don't think her rainbow friend likes me very much._" She watched as Fluttershy eyeballed Rainbow Dash, with a look of thought and frustration painted on her face.

Trixie sighed heavily before she trotted next to her and helped hoist the unconscious sky blue mare onto Fluttershy's back.

"The Great and Sympathetic Trixie, has... Reluctantly decided to help."

Fluttershy's face immediately brightened. "Oh thank goodness! I was worried I'd never get her to Twilight's,"

Trixie let out a small chuckle. "If I hadn't spotted that rainboom in the sky, I don't think I would have caught sight of your friend here."

Fluttershy looked at her with confusion and shock. "What are you talking about, Dash never did a rainboom,"

Trixie looked at Fluttershy, her face unchanged. "I know she didn't. I've seen your friend do several, and I could tell that it certainly wasn't hers, the colors were all wrong. I wasn't aware that somepony else was capable of performing such a physically demanding aerobatic."

"Fluttershy looked at her with her big blue eyes. "Then who else could have possibly done it?"

Trixie thought for a moment. "Perhaps a Wonderbolt. They are the premier flyers of Equestria, but I have never heard of them ever pulling one off. If I have my facts straight, Rainbow Dash is the only pony to ever perform a successful rainboom." Her faced twisted into confusion. "Though I can't imagine why the Wonderbolts would be flying over Ponyville at this hour,".

Fluttershy looked over at her friend. "Wow, I never thought of Rainbow Dash like that. She's almost sort of... Legendary,". The yellow Pegasus looked into the sky with eyes of wonder.

Just as she stopped, Rainbow Dash slid from her back and landed squarely on her head.

"Aargh!" She yelled out as she fell onto her back, her eyes squinted together as she writhed painfully in the grass. "My head! Sweet Celestia my head!"

"Your alive!" Shrieked Fluttershy with happiness, though she felt bad that she couldn't save her friend by herself.

"You need to stay still," said Trixie nervously,

Rainbow Dash stopped and put her hooves to her skull while her face lay in the grass. Something about the voice that spoke seemed familiar... She looked up slowly, and was confused by what she saw.

"Trixie?". She asked flatly, "What are you doing here?

Trixie looked over at Fluttershy. "I was helping her bring you to Twilight's. You had a nasty hit on your head, and I thought it would be cruel not to assist her". Trixie tried to offer a hoof to help her to her feet, but Rainbow Dash stood up on her own.

"How did I survive that fall, what was that huge noise, and what the heck swiped me off of my cloud!"

"I saved you Rainbow Dash," Trixie explained. "Trixie heard the thundering blast in the sky, and I looked up to see a colorful ring of lights.

"What, are you saying that noise was a rainboom? Please, I'm the only pony who can do one. Not even the Wonderbolts can pull one off! The noise and ring are just a coincidence."

Trixie butted in without paying much mind to what Dash had said. "There was a big boom, and a ring of colored lights. It couldn't have been anything else, Rainbow Dash,"

"I must have done one as I fell." Dash stopped and smiled to herself. "Wow, I didn't realize I was that awesome,". She tried to walk but once again winced in pain.

Rainbow Dash's hubris aggravated Trixie immensely. "Listen, after I looked up, I spotted you plummeting. Oh so gracefully, might I add,"

Dash's expression turned bitter as she spoke.

"The Great and Benevolent Trixie then decided to take mercy on your life,"

Dash spread her wings aggressively. "If I didn't have this headache, I would enjoy landing on you for a change,"

Trixie spat back, "Perhaps it isn't too late for red grass,"

Fluttershy jumped in between the two and glared quickly into Rainbow Dash's eyes.

Immediately the cyan mare's expression softened, and her head began to ache even harder. Fluttershy narrowed her eyes as she focused her stare much deeper than just Dash's eyes. As she began to bore into them, Dash began to yelp in pain, however she couldn't make her body break the stare. Fluttershy closed her eyes and turned towards Trixie.

"Ok ok! I'm sorry! I didn't mean any of those things I said, I was just a little angry!" Trixie blurted out as Fluttershy turned toward her.

Rainbow Dash's head pains had been augmented by Fluttershy's stare, but she managed to speak. "I'm sorry too, I'm sorry too! Please don't ever do that again, Fluttershy, whatever you do, don't use The Stare!"

Fluttershy stepped out from in between them and allowed the two to resume their conversation.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. "Ok listen, I heard the noise, and saw the ring of color. If it was a rainboom, not saying it was,". She paused and looked around, just as Fluttershy put her hoof to her face. "But if that display was a legit rainboom, then I took the hit at over the speed of sound. I should have been killed by just the impact alone, so what gives?"

Trixie and Fluttershy turned to each other.

"I didn't think about that,". Said Trixie.

"Neither did I,". Admitted Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash started to painfully walk. "Let's hurry up to Twilight's house. She'll be able to figure this whole thing out. Not to mention make my head stop hurting. Speaking of which, couldn't you do that Trixie?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has used up all her magic. That is why we are heading to Twilight's in the first place."

"Right, so lets start moving." Rainbow Dash announced as she began walking to Twilight's once more. She stopped and turned back, "And Trixie,". The royal blue mare looked her way, "Thanks for saving my life."


End file.
